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[NSFW] Photos: Burning Man Meets The Jersey Shore At 'Gratitude Migration'


By

Scott Heins

Published Jul 18, 2016

Modified Jul 18, 2016


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Sai Mokhtari/Gothamist

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By

Scott Heins

Published Jul 18, 2016

Modified Jul 18, 2016


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Hundreds of party people camped out on the New Jersey shore over the weekend for Gratitude Migration, a three-day festival in Keansburg, New Jersey with fire-dancing, face-painting, and yoga and dancing. In a way, the weekend was a smaller, gentler Burning Man—photographer Sai Mokhtari chronicled the experience and described it as a vibrant rave for adults (and hippies with iPhones). DJs spun carefree music to the delight of underdressed campers while, only a few yards away, homemade fireballs lit the beach and night sky.

"It felt like if you took 3 blocks of Black Rock City and plopped it down on the Jersey Shore," Mokhtari said. "Art floats instead of art cars. They even burned an effigy Saturday night." Despite a Saturday afternoon storm, the party carried on under elaborate tents and, eventually, seaside rafts, giving the crowd exactly what they'd came for: a weird, exuberant time.

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Gratitude Migration


Scott Heins

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Scott Heins is a freelance photo and video journalist based in New York City, and a frequent contributor to Gothamist + WNYC. His work often centers around labor rights, housing, and policing. In 2018-2019 he traveled to four states while covering a wave of public school teachers strikes, with work featured in The New York Times, The Intercept, Getty Images, Splinter, and Bloomberg Photos. Scott is a dues-paying member of the National Writers Union's Freelance Solidarity Project.

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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


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